I think that a full english isn’t an exclusionary meal. I think there are a few factors it needs to be in the category of full english but that there are many variations and additions or subtractions that still count.
In my opinion the only things required for a full english are any 4 of the following:
fried eggs
sausages
bacon
beans
toast
Anything less is not “full” and anything more is a variation of the full english.
Hash browns? Sure! ulsterfry? Go for it! Mushrooms? Absolutely! Tomatoes (grilled of course) yes please! Black pudding (not for me) bring it on!
But there is no singular thing that makes it a full english, it just has to have enough of the core ingredients to meet the criteria.
I tend to agree on that more flexible definition with a few core ingredients as baseline but it does seem to me that that core list needs to include at least one regional speciality item specific to the British Isles because I think that’s what the “full” part is really referring to as opposed to just a “fry up” as the other bloke suggested. I think in general in England that’s probably black pudding.
This thinking is because that minimum combination you listed is fairly common in a few places including Australia and while I don’t speak from experience, I think with the exception of the beans if wouldn’t be a totally strange or foreign combination in America either.
Its a fair point and i see where you are coming from but would it not also be fair to say a that a “fry up” is a colloquialism meaning full english? I would ask, where does a fry up cease to be a fry up? Whats the minimum requirements? Is eggs on toast a fry up? Eggs and sausage and beans? Sausages and bacon and toast? Or all of the above?
Or does fry up refer to how its cooked, in that it all goes in the pan? I tend to grill my bacon and sausages, fry my eggs and mushrooms, toaster my toast, microwave my beans. Is that not longer a fry up because its not all in the frying pan?
As to your point about the ingredients being common in a few places like Australia and America. Is it not fair to say that they adopted the meal and that explains the commonality? Like in england a curry is a practically a national dish, but its adopted from indian cuisine. We make it slightly differently to its country of origin but at its core the ingredients required to call it a curry are not uncommon anywhere in the world.
What you describe is a mere fry-up. The required ingredients of a full English are eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, beans, and tomato. Six perfect ingredients.
There’s nothing wrong with a fry-up, mind you. But it’s not a full English without the six.
Historically there is no set version of a full english. What you describe is just your version. It will be, entirely, a social construct. This is why the full english varies so much, its different traditions in different areas and families being passed down, giving everyone a different vision of what it is.
Its similar to how everyone has their own christmas traditions, or how fish and chips in the north tend to be more traditionally served with gravy mushy peas and bread+butter. Whereas in the south, typically, they are sold with just ketchup or mayonnaise. But again, not exclusively. They only requirement is a fash and some chips. Everything else is just a variation of that but still counts.
This is why i belive that there only needs to be a few core ingredients for a full english to qualify as a full english. After that its all tradition and preference.
I think that a full english isn’t an exclusionary meal. I think there are a few factors it needs to be in the category of full english but that there are many variations and additions or subtractions that still count.
In my opinion the only things required for a full english are any 4 of the following:
Anything less is not “full” and anything more is a variation of the full english.
Hash browns? Sure! ulsterfry? Go for it! Mushrooms? Absolutely! Tomatoes (grilled of course) yes please! Black pudding (not for me) bring it on!
But there is no singular thing that makes it a full english, it just has to have enough of the core ingredients to meet the criteria.
I tend to agree on that more flexible definition with a few core ingredients as baseline but it does seem to me that that core list needs to include at least one regional speciality item specific to the British Isles because I think that’s what the “full” part is really referring to as opposed to just a “fry up” as the other bloke suggested. I think in general in England that’s probably black pudding.
This thinking is because that minimum combination you listed is fairly common in a few places including Australia and while I don’t speak from experience, I think with the exception of the beans if wouldn’t be a totally strange or foreign combination in America either.
Its a fair point and i see where you are coming from but would it not also be fair to say a that a “fry up” is a colloquialism meaning full english? I would ask, where does a fry up cease to be a fry up? Whats the minimum requirements? Is eggs on toast a fry up? Eggs and sausage and beans? Sausages and bacon and toast? Or all of the above?
Or does fry up refer to how its cooked, in that it all goes in the pan? I tend to grill my bacon and sausages, fry my eggs and mushrooms, toaster my toast, microwave my beans. Is that not longer a fry up because its not all in the frying pan?
As to your point about the ingredients being common in a few places like Australia and America. Is it not fair to say that they adopted the meal and that explains the commonality? Like in england a curry is a practically a national dish, but its adopted from indian cuisine. We make it slightly differently to its country of origin but at its core the ingredients required to call it a curry are not uncommon anywhere in the world.
What you describe is a mere fry-up. The required ingredients of a full English are eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, beans, and tomato. Six perfect ingredients.
There’s nothing wrong with a fry-up, mind you. But it’s not a full English without the six.
Historically there is no set version of a full english. What you describe is just your version. It will be, entirely, a social construct. This is why the full english varies so much, its different traditions in different areas and families being passed down, giving everyone a different vision of what it is.
Its similar to how everyone has their own christmas traditions, or how fish and chips in the north tend to be more traditionally served with gravy mushy peas and bread+butter. Whereas in the south, typically, they are sold with just ketchup or mayonnaise. But again, not exclusively. They only requirement is a fash and some chips. Everything else is just a variation of that but still counts.
This is why i belive that there only needs to be a few core ingredients for a full english to qualify as a full english. After that its all tradition and preference.
Well, you’re very welcome to continue enjoying your fry-ups.
And you are very welcome to enjoy your specific version of a full english. 😀